ORLANDO, Fla. — After watching a 10-point halftime advantage evaporate, and then failing to retake the lead on consecutive earned possessions, Kentucky in the waning minutes engineered a game-deciding drive to win its fourth straight bowl game in thrilling fashion.
Down 17-13 with 3:31 remaining, the Wildcats drove 80 yards on eight plays to claim the lead for good and win, 20-17, over Iowa in the VRBO Citrus Bowl. Chris Rodriguez scored the deciding touchdown, his second of the game, from six yards, after a 52-yard connection between Will Levis and Wan’Dale Robinson set up UK at Iowa’s 1-yard line with under two minutes to play.
Iowa had a final opportunity to settle things in its favor but Spencer Petras was intercepted by DeAndre Square with 48 seconds to go.
Robinson finished with 170 yards on 10 receptions. He finished with 104 receptions on the season, becoming the first player in school history to reach the century mark in a single season, and Robinson ended up with 1,334 yards, breaking the single-season record for receiving yards.
Kentucky improved to 10-3, finishing with double-digit victories for just the fourth time in school history but the second time in the last four years.
How it happened
After Iowa picked up 12 yards on its first play of the game, UK forced a punt on the next set of downs. Rodriguez opened the Cats’ first series with runs of seven and eight yards, and eventually capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive with a five-yard TD reception from Levis.
A holding penalty extended Iowa’s second offensive series before Kentucky got the ball back. Facing third-and-10 after two unproductive runs, Levis was sacked from the left side for an eight-yard loss. Iowa responded with its first scoring drive; the Hawkeyes got to UK’s 5-yard line but got pushed backward due to a false start and had to settle for a 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Kentucky added to its lead late in the first half after getting into a rough spot. Following consecutive sacks resulting in eight-yard losses, Levis delivered a third-and-26 ball straight up the middle to Robinson for a 32-yard pick-up, enabling the opportunity for a 21-yard chip shot by Matt Ruffolo to make it 10-3 with a little more than 2 minutes remaining in the period. On its next defensive trip, Jordan Wright tipped a pass that dropped into the hands of D’Eryk Jackson for UK’s seventh interception of the season. Kentucky five plays later added another field goal to go up 13-3 before the break.
A sack, Iowa’s fourth of the game, halted UK’s second-half opening drive after it reached midfield. The Hawkeyes on their first time back out failed to convert on a fourth-down try deep in UK territory, but they forced another punt and got the ball back at midfield. They finally capitalized on their good field position and capped a 6-play drive with an Arland Bruce score on a 20-yard jet sweep.
Kentucky put Iowa inside its own 10 with an early fourth-quarter punt, but the Hawkeyes were able to go 92 yards on nine plays to take the lead, 17-13. Petras found Sam LaPorta for a 36-yard TD with 10:54 to play.
The Wildcats moved the ball well on their next series, getting to the Iowa 35, but JuhTahn McClain was halted inches short on a fourth-and-1 play with 7:13 left. Kentucky came up with its first three-and-out of the game and got the ball back about a minute later but was stopped near midfield after an interception on a fourth-and-10 desperation throw by Levis.
Notes
— UK prior to kickoff announced that eight players were inactive due to a combination of injuries and health and safety protocols. The status of two players listed — Josh Ali and Isaiah Epps — was previously disclosed by the team; they were involved in a car accident in which they suffered injuries. A third player listed, Josh Paschal, was described by Stoops on Friday as “highly questionable” to play due to a season-long injury that was re-aggravated during UK’s game against Louisville.
The five other players listed were: linebacker Marquez Bembry, offensive tackle Dare Rosenthal, linebacker Trevin Wallace, running back Kavosiey Smoke and linebacker J.J. Weaver.
— Mark Stoops improved to 59-53 overall as UK’s head coach. If he kicks off his 10th season with a win over Miami (Ohio), he will match Paul “Bear” Bryant as the school’s all-time wins leader.
— The nation’s active lead for consecutive non-conference wins was on the line Saturday. Both teams entered having won 15 straight such games.
